On March 29, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the plaintiff lacked an objectively or subjectively reasonable belief that the company violated any law enumerated in Section 806 of SOX.  Ngai v. Urban Outfitters, Inc., No. 19-cv-1480.

Background

Plaintiff, a Director of Sourcing and Technical Design, was responsible for ensuring that overseas factories properly executed apparel designs while minimizing production expenses.  He was required to ensure that factories were limiting waste and competitively pricing material, labor, and other costs.

Plaintiff claimed that throughout his employment, he reported general allegations of corporate waste and improper conduct by some of the company’s outside vendors and manufacturers.  Specifically, he complained that outside contractors were being wasteful, overcharging, self-dealing, inflating production costs, creating conflicts of interest within the company’s supply chain, and paying kickbacks to executives to secure high volume orders in violation of the company’s policies and Code of Conduct.  Plaintiff initially voiced his concerns directly to his supervisors, and then in April 2018 hired a lawyer, who sent over 20 letters to the company outlining Plaintiff’s concerns.  The company terminated Plaintiff’s employment in September 2018 and Plaintiff subsequently filed suit alleging, among other claims, that his employment was terminated in retaliation for his complaints.

Ruling

The Court held that Plaintiff failed to establish that he had a subjectively or objectively reasonable belief that the company engaged in conduct covered by SOX.  Plaintiff failed to prove that he had a subjectively reasonable belief of a violation because the record showed that he personally believed he was reporting violations of company policies, as opposed to violations of the federal statutes covered by SOX.  The court said that while there is no need to “ring the bell” on each element of a law covered by SOX when making a complaint, a plaintiff needs to show more than a “veiled reference” to unspecified legal violations, especially where, as here, the plaintiff sent over 20 letters memorializing his allegations.

The court also held that Plaintiff failed to show an objectively reasonable belief that he was reporting violations covered by SOX.  Relying on the Third Circuit’s decision in Wiest v. Lynch (see our post on that case here), the court held that Plaintiff failed to show that his belief that the company was committing one of the enumerated forms of fraud was objectively reasonable in light of the fact that Plaintiff’s primary job was to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.  The court ruled that an objectively reasonable person with Plaintiff’s background and job responsibilities would not believe a failure to root out misconduct by outside vendors constituted bank, wire, or securities fraud, or a violation of SEC rules.

Implications

This decision underscores the need for a purported SOX whistleblower to hold a belief of a violation of one of the provisions enumerated in SOX that is both subjectively and objectively reasonable.

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Photo of Steven J. Pearlman Steven J. Pearlman

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group and the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group.

Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law, with a particular…

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group and the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group.

Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law, with a particular focus on defending companies against claims of employment discrimination, retaliation and harassment; whistleblower retaliation; restrictive covenant violations; theft of trade secrets; and wage-and-hour violations. He has successfully tried cases in multiple jurisdictions, and defended one of the largest Illinois-only class actions in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He also secured one of only a few ex parte seizures orders that have been issued under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and obtained a world-wide injunction in federal litigation against a high-level executive who jumped ship to a competitor.

Reporting to boards of directors, their audit committees, CEOs and in-house counsel, Steven conducts sensitive investigations and has testified in federal court. His investigations have involved complaints of sexual harassment involving C-suite officers; systemic violations of employment laws and company policies; and fraud, compliance failures and unethical conduct.

Steven was recognized as Lawyer of the Year for Chicago Labor & Employment Litigation in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Chambers describes Steven as an “outstanding lawyer” who is “very sharp and very responsive,” a “strong advocate,” and an “expert in his field.” Steven was 1 of 12 individuals selected by Compliance Week as a “Top Mind.” Earlier in his career, he was 1 of 5 U.S. lawyers selected by Law360 as a “Rising Star Under 40” in the area of employment law and 1 of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” selected by Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Steven is a Burton Award Winner (U.S. Library of Congress) for “Distinguished Legal Writing.”

Steven has served on Law360’s Employment Editorial Advisory Board and is a Contributor to Forbes.com. He has appeared on Bloomberg News (television and radio) and Yahoo! Finance, and is regularly quoted in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has engaged Steven to serve as lead counsel on amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit courts of appeal. He was appointed to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois in employment litigation matters. He has presented with the Solicitor of the DOL, the Acting Chair of the EEOC, an EEOC Commissioner, Legal Counsel to the EEOC and heads of the SEC, CFTC and OSHA whistleblower programs. He is also a member of the Sedona Conference, focusing on trade secret matters.

Photo of Pinchos Goldberg Pinchos Goldberg

Pinny Goldberg is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Pinny represents employers in a broad array of matters before federal and state courts, FINRA and other arbitration panels, and administrative agencies, including the EEOC and its state equivalents, and…

Pinny Goldberg is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Pinny represents employers in a broad array of matters before federal and state courts, FINRA and other arbitration panels, and administrative agencies, including the EEOC and its state equivalents, and in pre-litigation negotiations. Matters he works on include discrimination and harassment, wage and hour, wrongful discharge, whistleblowing and retaliation, covenants not to compete, breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and tort and contract claims.

In addition to handling litigation and dispute resolution, Pinny regularly advises clients on a wide variety of employment issues, including drafting, reviewing and revising handbooks and workplace policies. He also addresses questions and concerns related to hiring, wage and hour issues, employee leave, performance problems, terminations of employment, and separation agreements and releases.